Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

We are redoing our kitchen and just ordered the counter and picked out the tile for our backsplash. We went with a marble mosaic with a 4" glass and stone mosaic strip. The package says 2"x4" marfil polished marble mosaics and the other says stone/glass mosaic, it's a bunch of random tiles about 1/2" tall. We got everything from lowes. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything or if I'm doing anything wrong.

Right now we have drywall with wall paper on it. So I'm thinking that needs to be ripped out and some sort of backer put in. What is the best backer for tile backsplash?

Is the mortar I got good for the tiles I have? Should I use the mapei polymer additive with it also? What size trowel is used for this?

I bought non sanded mapei grout also. The marble says it should be sealed before grouting. What is the best way to do this? Use a foam brush and just go over everthing? Will it hurt anything to go over the glass also or should I stay away from that?

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

For a backspash you can strip the wallpaper put a coat of primer and put tile over the drywall but I would use a mastic instead of mortar in your case because it's easy to use. But if you already bought the mortar it ends up stronger though it's hardly an issue when doing a backsplash. Not like you are setting big heavy floor tiles on the wall.

The mortar is fine. No additive needed, it already has polymer added to it. If you read carefully it says adding more polymer is for underwater use. Again prime the wall, do not apply directly to paper. The paper will wick too much moisture out of the thinset and it requires moisture for the portland cement to cure properly otherwise it can be weak and powdery when it dries.

One concern might be the thickness of the different kinds of tile may be a bit different requiring you to put the mortar on a little thicker on one or the other.

Sealing the tile you can use a foam brush, I would try to be careful and avoid the translucent glass tiles. You can also put it all over and buff it off the glass. It will just leave a haze on the glass so your glass will not be as pretty if you do not remove it. You might be able to apply a bit of sealer before putting the tiles up if it makes thing easier then you can bend them a bit to get it into the edges. Basically the problem is that stone will suck up some of the colour from the grout if you do not seal it first. I wouldn't be a big fan of having tiles that require sealing in the kitchen for practical purposes but it depends on how much tile is in the splatter zone around the stove.

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

Thanks for the advice guys.

Is there any problem with tearing the existing drywall out and putting in backer of some sort? I hate stripping wall paper and I would think it would be about the same amount of time to just rip out what's there as it would be to strip the wall paper and then prime. I can just use a sawzall or rotozip and cut the old drywall out at the cabinet edges and install new hardi or whatever pretty easy. Unless there is some reason I shouldn't do this?

For the mortar, I just have always used the stuff you mix yourself. Just have thought of it as being better. But like you mention it's just a backsplash. But I already have the mortar so will just use that.

The two tiles are the same size or very close so that shouldn't be a problem.

Oh'mike, you said to seal the face only. Queball, you say I can bend the tiles to seal the edges. I will seal the tiles before I install them for ease but should I only do the face of the tiles or the edges also? A little confused about that.

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

If you want to install a backer board go right ahead but you don't have to do a fantastic job removing the wallpaper. Just Just steam it, grab a corner and tear what you can. Slap on some basic cheap primer and then you can get on to tiling.

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

Quote:

Originally Posted by QueBall

If you want to install a backer board go right ahead but you don't have to do a fantastic job removing the wallpaper. Just Just steam it, grab a corner and tear what you can. Slap on some basic cheap primer and then you can get on to tiling.

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

Alright thank you QueBall. One last question for now, you mentioned bending the tile before install in order to seal the edges. Oh'Mike said to only seal the front of the tile. Can you explain to me if I should only do the front or also seal the sides. I will do it before I install the tile just for ease.

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponch37300

Alright thank you QueBall. One last question for now, you mentioned bending the tile before install in order to seal the edges. Oh'Mike said to only seal the front of the tile. Can you explain to me if I should only do the front or also seal the sides. I will do it before I install the tile just for ease.

Do a little bit of the sides if you can. If you want a contrasting grout colour then be a little more thorough. If it's a complementing colour then you do not need to be super obsessive about getting all the way down to the back. Colour transfer into the porous stone is only going to be visible near the very front edge of the grout joint so even if you just do the front it will penetrative deep enough to prevent visible transfer. Basically instead of soaking in a coloured grout the stone soaks in a transparent sealer filling the pores.

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

I have a ridged tile saw I bought about 8 or so years ago, that uses 10" blades. What kind of blades should I use for the glass and for the marble? I have three blades right now, the one that came with it, a mk hot dog blade, and another one I bought for cutting thicker granite(doesn't flex like the hot dog blade did). Will one of these blades work? If not what do I need?

Tile backsplash with marble and glass mosaic

Quote:

Originally Posted by ponch37300

I have a ridged tile saw I bought about 8 or so years ago, that uses 10" blades. What kind of blades should I use for the glass and for the marble? I have three blades right now, the one that came with it, a mk hot dog blade, and another one I bought for cutting thicker granite(doesn't flex like the hot dog blade did). Will one of these blades work? If not what do I need?

Glass can be a challenge to cut without chipping. There are blades specific to glass tile. Test your existing blades to see if they work before dropping $80+ on a glass specialty blade. Seem to help if you clean the saw if it gets overloaded with spoil from previous cuttings.

I will clamp a scrap strip of wood to hold the tile sheet down on the sled of the tile saw. I chip tile when it wobbles too much and it's kind of hard to hold the mosaic flat. I saw a post from someone who hot glues tile along cut line down to scrap drywall to get a good cut and reduce vibration and wobble. Cuts right through the drywall and tile sandwich. Scrape the glue off when done.